Electric supercar circles Greater London twice on a single charge

UK students have driven an electric car around Greater London twice on a single charge. Using a specially modified electric Radical SRZERO supercar, the Racing Green Endurance (RGE) team from Imperial College completed two laps of the M25 motorway in the wee hours of Friday morning, covering a total distance of 250 miles (400km). The feat is a lead up to an attempt later this year at becoming the first EV to conquer the longest road on Earth - the Pan American Highway.

Built on a Radical Sportscars SR8 chassis and using two lightweight motors designed and built by an Imperial spinout company - EVO Electrics, the 1100 kg SRZERO boasts the specs to back up its "electric supercar" label: a top speed of 200kmh, 0-100 kmh in 7s, a full charge in 6 hours and a 200 mile / 400+ km range.

The open-top SRZERO must have been quite a sight as its balaclava wearing drivers steered it around the ring road in the middle of the night. The first lap was completed at 55 mph using 42% of the total energy and ramped up to 60 mph the second time around.

In July the Imperial College team plans to take on the Pan American highway, aiming to cover more than 16,000 miles (26,000 km) through 14 countries from the northern tip of Alaska to the southern tip of South America.

This epic trip is designed to both change public perception of electric cars and evaluate the capabilities of electric vehicles over long distances.

The Tesla roadster previously held the M25 record, having completed one lap of the M25 on a single charge. The Roadster also traveled 313 miles on a single charge last year on the empty roads of the Australian outback and is currently embarked on its own long range testing odyssey in which it will travel 22,000 miles through Europe, Asia and North America.